Second Vimeo Festival + Awards open for submissions

The second Vimeo Festival + Awards is now open and taking submissions for any original work that premiered anywhere online between 31 July 2010 and 20 February 2012 , or any original work that has never been premiered before. This of course includes films made on cameraphones and smartphones.

The festival and awards ceremony will be held in New York City on 7–9 June.

Vimeo will award Grants of $5,000 to all the category winners as well as awarding a Grant of $25,000 for the grand prize winner.

“Since our inaugural event [2010], we have watched online video explode into a primary medium for new talent discovery,” said Jeremy Boxer, director of the Vimeo Festival + Awards.

“More and more creators earn visibility, credibility and, ultimately, work by showcasing their videos online. We created the Vimeo Festival + Awards to celebrate the best of the best of these videos.”

Beginning today through 20 February 2012, film-makerscan submit their works for consideration in one of 13 different judged categories, which include these four new categories:

Fashion: Fashion photographers are exploring creativefilm-making, blurring the line between fashion and art. Similarly, designers are able to bring to life the mood and inspiration behind their collections in greater detail and with more emotion than through still photos.

Action Sports: As lightweight, durable, and wearable HD cameras have become more accessible, adventurers, athletes, and documentarians can go anywhere while filming it all.

Advertising: Due to the high volume of content online, advertisers have been forced to become increasingly creative in order to reach audiences. As a result, many people now seek out commercial films as standalone entertainment.

Lyrical: This category celebrates videos that showcase the natural world or personal experience using a dramatic creative style. With film-making techniques such as slow motion and time lapse now increasingly available, these videos provide thought-provoking and oftentimes heart-wrenching windows into other people’s worlds.
A full list of the video categories can be found at vimeo.com/awards.

There is a submission charge of $20 (U.S.) per video ($5 for Vimeo Plus and PRO members).